James E. “Buff” Buffenbarger is a 1959 Bluffton graduate in biology education. Buffenbarger was a four-year letter winner on the talented football squads of the late 1950s. He earned all-league honors three times while also picking up one letter in basketball.

While at Bluffton, Buffenbarger was a member of the Student Christian Association, the Varsity B Club and Big Brothers. He continued his education at Indiana University, where he earned his master’s degree in guidance education.

In 1994, Buffenbarger received the Charles Weaver Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the Ohio School Counselor Association after 23 years as a guidance counselor at Lima Senior High School.